I woke up Saturday morning still sore from Barre on Thursday night and a little hungover from the 9% ABV C-3PA at Zuni Street Brewing the night before. I had heard about The River Yoga from a few friends and saw they were running a special for new ClassPass students for just 2 credits. Hot Baptiste Yoga was my workout of choice in New Jersey and The River seemed similar. I was super excited to try out their new Five Points location.
Five Points is Denver’s historically black neighborhood previously known as the “Harlem of the West”. It is home to the Black American West Museum and the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library. Five Points is RAPIDLY gentrifying. Governing Magazine ranked Denver seventh among the 50 largest cities for the extent of gentrification. Rent in Denver increased by approximately 50 percent from 2010 to 2017. I can’t help but feel like I’m contributing to pricing out the locals as a transplant myself. I try to buy black and local whenever I can. Any chance I get to visit Five Points and invest in the local economy, mindfully, I take it.
This studio is beautiful – bright, warm, artistic, clean. I took the Power Vinyasa Warm ++ (I have no idea what the ++ means) class. The instructor’s voice is almost too calming. When I walked in I thought for sure it would be distracting but by the end of class she had me eating right out of her hand. There were about 14 of us in class and for the first time I wasn’t the only plus sized person (1 of 2) or minority (1 of 3)! I brought my own mat and towel, but they have them available for rent or purchase if you need. With any yoga class, it takes a while to catch on to the different pose/flow names but it’s worth the learning curve. To start we went through a range of poses slowly as a class, I started sweating like 4 minutes in lol. Then we went through those same poses switching on every inhale/exhale. The instructor would mention potential modifications as she went through the poses (most of which I took) like dropping your knees while in plank. I may be leaving out a few poses, but this was the general order:
- Downward Dog
- Inhale – Lift one leg for three-legged dog
- Exhale – Pull leg through – knee to nose
- Inhale – Kick it back out
- Exhale – Pull leg through to low lunge
- Inhale – Crescent lunge
- Exhale – Reverse warrior
- Inhale & Exhale – 3 side crunches in reverse warrior
- Inhale – Tadasana
- Exhale – One legged tadasana
- Inhale – open your bent knee
- Exhale – Ugatasana
- Inhale – Vinyasa (or chattarunga) – high plank to up dog to downward facing dog
After cycling through twice with the class, the instructor had us flow at our own pace for three cycles. I’d never practiced my own flow before, so it took me a while to get the hang of it. She instructed us to add in or take out whatever we needed for our individual practices. It ended up being a really nice change of pace and allowed me to better regulate my breath since I wasn’t rushing to catch up to anyone. The rest of practice was just as enjoyable. The music finally had a little flavor, some R&B we could vibe to. The songs to finish out were River themed – Leon Bridges and Sam Cooke – a nice touch. By the end I was covered in sweat and felt powerful, loose and relaxed.
After class, I couldn’t resist the urge to grab breakfast sandwiches from Rosenberg’s because all things in moderation, right? Rosenberg’s is a New York style deli who claims they’ve replicated NYC water to make their bagels one-of-a-kind. It’s super popular and if you plan on visiting anticipate a wait. I grabbed 2 Jersey Boys – an egg bagel with pork roll (incorrectly labeled as Taylor Ham on their menu 😉), fried egg, American cheese, and salt pepper ketchup. It was pretty good considering it was a little slice of home, but The Jersey Boy will run you $9.50 for a sandwich that would cost ~$4 in Jersey. Either way I’d recommend stopping by to check out this welcoming, diverse breakfast haven. Or if you happen to take a night class and really need to fill up, check out the 20-year-old Welton St. Café for some soul food.
Recommendations: Power Vinyasa, Warm ++ at The River Yoga – Five Points followed by a trip to Rosenberg’s Bagels & Delicatessen a few blocks up.
Notes: ClassPass Credits – 2, 75 min
What to Wear/Bring: Yoga Mat, Microfiber Sports Towel
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